Mother beats children
BEATRICE — A Clatonia woman
accused of bruising her two children
by striking them with a fly swatter
says she did nothing wrong, according
to court records. The children were
struck apparently after being caught
playing with gasoline and a lighter.
Bernice Antons, 40, has been
charged with felony child abuse for
allegedly striking her 9-year-old girl
and 6-year-old boy. She told police
she hit the children Sunday after find
ing them in the garage playing with
gasoline and a lighter, court records
state.
Wilber Police Deputy Doug Klaus
said he saw five bruises on the back
and thigh of the girl at the Wilber
Clatonia School, court records state.
The girl told Klaus the bruises were
the result of a beating with a fly swat
ter administered by her mother.
The bruises ranged from about I
inch to 7 inches in length and were
consistent with the size and shape of a
fly swatter handle, Klaus said. It looked
as if the girl had been struck about
eight to 10 times, he said.
The boy also told the officer his
mother had repeatedly struck him with
a fly swatter handle on the buttocks,
leaving two small bruises, court docu
ments state.
Wilber police became aware of the
swatting after receiving a child abuse
complaint from school officials Mon
day, court documents indicate. Antons
was formally charged Tuesday in Gage
County Court.
Antons told Klaus that she ordered
her children into the house after find
ing them with the gasoline and lighter.
She said she struck their bare buttocks
repeatedly with a fly swatter handle,
court records state.
The next court appearance for
Antons is scheduled for Thursday.
Voters divided on gambling
Issue to be decided
by November vote
OM A H A—Opponents and sup
porters of a proposal to allow off
track betting were about even in a
poll published in the Omaha World
Herald.
A Sept. 6-8 survey of 1,006
people who said they were regis
tered voters indicated that 42 per
cent would vote for off-track bet
ting and 44 percent said they would
vote against it. Fourteen percent
said they didn’t know or declined to
answer.
Voters will be asked Nov. 8 to
vote on a proposed constitutional
amendment that would al low tracks
to set up betting fac i I ities away from
the tracks. Gamblers would be able
to go to those sites to place bets
directly into the pari-mutuel pool
and then watch the races live on
simulcast television.
The poll, conducted by the
Gallup Organization of Princeton,
N.J., had a margin of error of plus
or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Those polled were asked whether
they would vote for or against the
proposal if an election were held
that day.
Poll results indicated that people
with higher incomes were more
likely to support the proposal. Of
those who said their annual income
was less than $20,000, 34 percent
said they would vote for the pro
posal. Approval increased to 44
percent among people with incomes
between $20,000 and $50,000 and
to 50 percent of those with income
higher than $50,000;
In a June World-Herald poll, 47
percent of those surveyed said they
favored off-track betting and 39
percent said they opposed it.
Nebraska racing officials say off
track betting would make the state’s
racetracks more competitive for the
state’s gambling dollars. Since the
state’s five tracks are in the eastern
half of Nebraska; Omaha, Lincoln,
Grand Island, South Sioux City and
Columbus, off-track betting sites
could make it easier for people liv
ing in western Nebraska to gamble
on horse races.
AKsarben opened an off-track
betting facility in Bennington ear
lier this year under a law passed in
1992. The attorney general’s office
has challenged the constitutional
ity of the law. The Nebraska Su
preme Court is to consider the case.
Meditation may
benefit inmates
OMAHA—A small Nebraska citi
zens’ group wants state corrections
officials to use transcendental medita
tion to relieve inmate and employee
stress.
Citizens for a Crime-Free Ne
braska, which has about 1S members
mostly from Omaha and Lincoln, is
asking for adoption of a program de
signed by Farrokh Anklesaria.
Anklesaria is international direc
tor of rehabilitation programs for
Maharishi European Research Uni
versity in Selisberg, Switzerland, and
for Maharishi International Univer
sity in Fairfield, Iowa.
Transcendental meditation is a
method of deep relaxation through
meditation.
Anklesaria has met this week with
corrections and law enforcement offi
cials from Douglas County and the
state and two State Parole Board mem
bers in an effort to sell the TM con
cept.
A member of the group, Keith
Miller, said transcendental meditation
is something that should be consid
ered in light of rising crime rates.
“Now is the time for the citizens of
Nebraska to act,” said Miller, an
Omaha attorney. “Crime is rising,
slowly but steadily. We are in danger
of losing our state's special quality of
life.”
Schools receive
Internet funds
OMAHA — Several school sys
tems across Nebraska are getting a
financial boost into the age of technol
ogy. .
U S West Communications on
Thursday gave schools in Omaha,
Crawford, Grand Island, North Platte,
South Sioux City and Wayne a total of
$1.8 million to help them provide
Internet access to more students and
teachers across the state.
In addition, Educational Service
Unit No. 3, which serves Omaha-area
suburban school districts, received
$139,000, and the University of Ne
braska at Omaha’s College of Educa
tion received $114,300.
Sen. Bob Kerrey. D-Neb., who has
pushed for Internet services to schools,
called the U S West gift a first step. He
said the benefits of technology need to
be available to every student.
He read from a McMillan student’s
speech about using the Internet to do
research in a Moscow library and to
simulate a space shuttle takeoff.
“The urgency I feel with this tech
nology comes from watching young
people learn from it,” Kerrey said.
“This young person and others ac
quire motivation, and that’s the most
important ingredient.”
“We believe these schools will be
showcase examples of Internet access
and educational usage,” Jim Hawes,
U S West Communications Nebraska
vice president, said at a UNO press
conference.
In most cases, the schools will use
the money to wire their buildings to
build networks of computers that can
be connected to the Internet, the glo
balIcomputernetwork.
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